Local Goa News

Thursday, June 30, 2016

Delhi chief minister meets archbishop to ‘seek blessings’

Panaji: Delhi chief minister and national convener of Aam Aadmi Party, Arvind Kejriwal called on the archbishop Patriarch of the archdiocese of Goa and Daman, Fr Filipe Neri Ferrao, on Thursday - the third and last day of his second Goa visit -- before returning to Delhi. Kejriwal said, the closed door meeting with Ferrao at the Bishop's House in Altinho that lasted for over 20 minutes, was meant to "seek his blessings".
AAP national executive member Dinesh Vaghela, general secretary Pankaj Gupta and senior leader Ashish Khetan were also present at the meeting along with the secretary to Archbishop, Fr Joaquim Loiola Pereira. Khetan described the meeting as a "courtesy call". Speaking on the cancellation of his Gujarat visit, Kejriwal said the Gujarat government was "scared" of AAP which is why they cancelled the permission granted to hold a meeting at the university convention hall.
In between meetings with small communities Kejriwal also met with Bhrameshanand Swamiji Maharaj at Kundaim in Ponda on Wednesday. He had earlier attended an Iftar party hosted by Riyaz Kadri at Vasco on Tuesday.
This time, Kejriwal didn't address a large rally like he had done during his earlier visit in May. Instead he spent time members of the traditional fishing community in Khariawaddo, Vasco; had lunch with them and assured them that their houses on the coast wouldn't be demolished if AAP came to power in 2017. Twelve fishing associations submitted a memorandum listing their demands to Kejriwal which he read and agreed to.
In the tourist village of Calangute, he interacted with small hoteliers and in Ponda, with a hall full of youth. Rooting out corruption and preserving Goa's culture are the party's priorities for the coastal state, he said, assuring people that the party would win 35 out of 40 seats.